Dancing In The Dark
by FallenCrimsonStar
Summary: One-shot Dramione. Hermione is in a muggle night club, trying to dance away her sorrow, and remembering her break up with Ron. She is joined by a man on the dance floor and loses herself in his embrace. You already know who he is! *sighs with pleasure*


**A/N: What can I say? The idea for this came to me suddenly and I was inspired and all that. :) Hope you like it!**

Dancing In The Dark

_I'm dancing alone here in the dark,_

_And then I can feel you next to me._

_There's warm solace in your embrace,_

_And only love when I look into your face._

_A smirk, and then you lean in to kiss me softly,_

_We ignore the music; it beats so very quickly_

_My heart is telling me to stay, but just to go slow_

_And boy, I will never ever let you let me go._

_oxoxox_

She held her hands out, her arms bent inward at the elbows as she swayed to the music; then lifted her arms to travel up her body as she turned around on the spot. Her hips moved in time with the reverberation; the melodic tune was not racy, but sensual. It was a muggle establishment, this night club, so her friends were not likely to burst in and find her.

And if there was one thing Hermione Granger needed to do, it was just to let go. And she needed to do this away from everyone she knows. She was dressed the part, her hair out and wild (but _not_ frizzy), her clothes black and fitting almost like a second skin. She was no fan of getting her flash out, so while the outfit did indeed tantalise the senses, it was more about creating intrigue, and less about blatant show-and-tell.

She tore her eyes away from the brightness of the overhead lights, joined by a guy in a designer outfit. If he hadn't been trying to crack onto her, she would have thought he was gay, good taste in clothes and all that.

She didn't look up into his face, her eyes sore from the lights.

Hermione indulged him, not worried that he was some kind of sick psycho. He held her waist in his hands, pushing up against her and she let the music travel through her.

When the music changed, the lights dimmed to near darkness; but still she danced, unhindered by the few seconds wait for the next song. The guy dancing with her didn't seem to mind, and as the beat quickened, so did their movements. Flashes of sporadic colourful lights gave her fleeting images of this man, this muggle who was spinning her around on the spot one moment and then pressed up against her the next.

And why was she acting like this? Why was she letting a complete stranger half grope her in the semi-dark of a muggle night club? For solace, to hide her heart ache, and because she was just a _little_ bit drunk. Scratch that last one. She was _a lot_ drunk!

She held onto this stranger, feeling his warmth waft over her in a strange kind of comforting way. She needed this. She _wanted_ this.

So, what was wrong? Oh, bloody Ronald Weasley of course! She'd been dating him properly since the fall of Voldemort, only to find out a year later that Lavender Brown had been pursuing him all along. He said that he had never given into her, always gently telling Lavender that it would never happen, and that he was with Hermione now. And Hermione had believed him!

'_No,' _Hermione told herself, gripping tighter onto her dance floor partner. _'I will not let him drag me down. I'm here to have fun.'_

She spun around, and then let the stranger entwine their fingers together as they danced. She laughed at him, watching the way his body moved. The new song was even faster than the last and she just let herself go. Once the song started to fade and a slower, more loving one took its place, Hermione's partner started to come into focus, what with her being more than just a little drunk.

He looked into her eyes and suddenly standing still, she looked back. Those eyes were so beautiful, so _familiar_. She blinked heavily, trying to unblock her vision and as her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, he pressed a forefinger to her lips to silence her.

"I told you I would treat you better," he said softly, but making sure she could hear him.

Hermione swallowed heavily. He was making her giddy, thinking _dirty_ thoughts. But what would _he_ be doing here, in a muggle night club of all places.

And as Draco Malfoy lowered his lips to hers, she closed her eyes, remembering the events that had started only a few days after she'd found out about Lavender's quest to win back her "won won".

Hermione had started being friends with Draco Malfoy. His mother had approached her, asking her to make friends with him (he was working as an assistant to the Head of International Magical Cooperation but no-one wanted to befriend him, given his family's now tarnished name).

Narcissa Malfoy had donated _a lot_ of money to Hermione's newest crusade for the protection of magical creatures against ministry control. She was getting pretty far too, what with her best friend Harry Potter agreeing to put his name on it as well, and _nobody_ wanted to let down the "chosen one".

And yeah, she took the bribe from Narcissa. Uncharacteristic maybe, but it was for a good cause after all. And she was completely taken in by Narcissa's concern for her son. Yeah, she was a sucker for people in need.

So Hermione sought Draco out at work, looking past his nasty innuendos, the loathsome glares, and self indulgent pity to try to befriend him. He was more reserved these days, though a flicker of the old, smug Malfoy remained. And once he got past his suspicions that she was "checking up" on him for the ministry or her "lame ass friends" (as he put it), Draco had eventually opened up to her.

Hermione found herself returning the gesture, telling him all about Lavender, and her jealousy, that she hid from Ron. He was sympathetic, caring, and more attentive than she had ever known him to be. Perhaps it had been his need to have a friend at the ministry, or maybe he really did care. She had had no idea.

And then Hermione made a mistake, one she regretted but knew was inevitable. She told Ron about Draco. _He_ was not sympathetic, caring, nor attentive. But then, Draco was a touchy subject with her friends.

Ron grew increasingly jealous, telling her to stop seeing him, as though she was sleeping with him or something. She told him that was ridiculous, that he was just a friend, and anyway, if either of them should be jealous, it should be _her_!

Lavender did not know how to take no for an answer, hanging around the ministry when Ron had his lunch hour, and coming over to see him when Hermione was the only one working. Ginny had seen her arriving at the house Hermione and Ron shared, and had told Hermione as soon as she got off work.

The argument Hermione had had with Ron was crude and littered with cussing; _he_ had always been foul mouthed. She stormed out in a rage, heading over to Ginny and Harry's place. _They_ were both supportive, so why not Ronald?

(She wouldn't have bothered them, considering the position she'd be putting Harry in, but Ginny had insisted, saying, "that stupid idiot is _my brother_, and besides, this is my house too, not just Harry's". Poor Harry had been outnumbered and outflanked.)

Ginny went over to Ron's house the next day, collected Hermione's belongings, ignoring her brother adamantly, and even went with Hermione as she searched for a new place.

But it was Draco's reaction that pulled on her heart strings. The fury on that normally aloof or smirking face was unmistakable. Was he more concerned for her than Ronald could ever be?

After spending an hour debating how many curses he could inflict on Ron at the same time, Draco had said something that made her head spin and her knees weaken. "I would treat you better than he would."

Pulling herself out of the past, Hermione focused on the present. Draco Malfoy was kissing her. Didn't he realise she was drunk, damn it?

But her arms went around his neck and she had never held so fast to anyone before. They pressed their bodies together, ignoring the music, ignoring the muggles and immersing only in each other. Maybe, just maybe, this had been the most rewarding outcome of her crusades for the protection of magical creatures against ministry control.

'_Yes,' _she thought wickedly. _'This I could get used to.'_

X X X

**A/N: So what did you think? I'm open to all forms of constructive praise and criticism. No Flaming! Tell me if it's worth me doing more Dramione. Please review! **


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